


Where Everybody Knows Your Name

by DoctorMongoose



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Human AU, Human Castiel, Human Meg, Megstiel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-12 04:07:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2095116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorMongoose/pseuds/DoctorMongoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is a bartender and Meg a regular with a stunning smile, fast friends the moment she walked through the doors of The Roadhouse.  One night everything changes, setting off a series of events that could threaten to unravel not just their relationship, but the lives of everyone around them.</p><p>Dedicated to megstiel-is-my-otp.tumblr.com for giving me my first place to go as Megstiel shipper.  Without her this story would not be here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [megstielismyotp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/megstielismyotp/gifts).



"Ugh! Fuck men! You hear me Clarence, fuck em!" came an exasperated shout behind him.

Castiel smiled, knowing his favorite patron had just walked through the door and began the usual double vodka tonic with a twist she had been ordering since she first walked in here six months before hand. He turns to her with her finished drink and a twinkle in his eye, “Well speaking as a man we can be dogs. I apologize on behalf of my species. Unless of course you were looking for that one night stand you keep teasing me about”

Meg Masters grimaced at him as she snatched her drink away and took a large gulp. She was wearing a cocktail dress that hugged her the way Castiel, hell anyone would like and was dolled up to the nines. Castiel gulped audibly as he looked her over, praying she didn’t notice. If she did, thankfully his pass went ignored. “Funny man there, Cas. When did you finally grow a sense of humor?”

"About 3 drinks ago" Castiel says, gesturing to the near empty bar, "Dean said that since it was a slow night I should pass the time and possibly close up early. Only stayed open this late to see if you would stop by."

"Really know how to make a girl feel special there, Clarence. Makes me all dewy if you know what I mean," she mumbles between swigs of her drink.

Castiel sighed, knowing that something must really be digging at her. Meg only got really drunk and flirty if something was truly bothering her. Having tended bar at the Roadhouse for the past few years, Castiel got defense mechanisms, but they were still a strange thing for Meg. She was the most confident and strongest woman that he had ever met, so it was always a little saddening to see her so low. “Talk to me Meg, what’s going on? You should be out tearing up the town in a dress like that.”

Meg looked up from her nearly finished drink at Castiel, her eyes almost drilling into his soul. It made him shiver a bit, and the only time he shivered around Meg was when she flashed that amazing smile of hers his way. He lived for those moments with her, he lived for the shivers. Not this time though. “I was at a work function,” she slurs out, “and I got fired because I wouldn’t let my boss feel me up in the break room.”

Castiel felt his grip tighten on the bar painfully as he watches her down the remainder of her vodka tonic. It’s only after a moment of silence he realizes he is hurting himself by gripping so tight. That’s strange, he thought, why does this bother me so much? He can’t think of what to do other than to reach out and take her hand in his. She looks at him with a very wary look in her eye, and he mentally kicks himself. Why would he try to touch her when probably less than an hour ago a guy was almost assaulting her? He pulls away momentarily before walking around the bar and sitting next to her, “Look, Meg, I honestly don’t know what to say in this situation other than I’m sorry. And that your boss is a massive dick. And that he deserves a very severe STD for karmic balance.”

Meg cracks a small smile that makes Castiel’s heart leap a little. It quickly disappears though as she seems to pull back into herself. Castiel can’t help but feel a little stung. Aside from his ridiculous crush on Meg, every time she almost opens up to him it is gone in a flash. He recognizes that in this situation he is being a bit unfair given what happened, but come on! If there was one time where she was going to finally open up this would be…..is….is Meg crying?

Meg’s shoulders are moving up and down, barely noticeable in the dim light of the bar. Castiel has to almost lean in to hear the sobs coming from between clenched teeth. Unsure of what to do he just stands up abruptly. The sudden movement causes Meg to look up, the spell broken for a moment. They both stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, bright blue eyes locked on brown ones that are tinged with a bit of red. A sniffle from Meg breaks the silence as Castiel tentatively moves forward and pulls her into a tight embrace. Like that the flood gates open and she is sobbing openly into his shoulder.

"This…this is so, so stupid Cas" she gets out between sobs, "I shouldn’t be wasting tears on that son of a bitch."

"I know, Meg, I know" Cas says, doing his best to comfort the small woman now curling herself into him, "the tears aren’t for him. They’re for you. You went through something traumatic tonight and your body is just letting all that adrenaline and stress out. I’ve been there."

Their eyes meet again for just a moment before Meg buries her head deeper into Castiel’s shoulder, wrapping her arms even tighter around his neck. Castiel just holds her, letting her get her emotions out, knowing that this is what she needs to begin the healing process. Castiel looks behind him to see the few other patrons clearing out, giving him and Meg the privacy they need. He mouths thank you at the departing bodies and they all tip their hats or hands in his direction. Castiel takes a deep breath before saying, “Meg? I kind of need to lock up ok?”

Meg is suddenly very aware of how empty the bar is and is almost embarrassed of herself, “Oh god, Cas, I’m so sorry. Here I am dumping my problems on you like some high school sophomore. I’ll just head home.”

"No, Meg, you’re in no condition to drive. Look, there is a spare room in the back we use for when regulars need to sleep off the sauce or if someone is working late. Please, stay there tonight. I’ll crash out on the couch and we can leave in the morning ok?" Castiel says, hoping he doesn’t sound too eager.

Meg Stops for a moment, considering it, “No, I couldn’t, I don’t want to impose on you…”

Castiel shushes her with a finger and walks into the back. He grabs a spare shirt of his, one of the many white dress shirts he uses for work and gives it to her, “Here, you can sleep in this if you want, that dress looks far too nice to be left on.”

Castiel blanches in horror at what he just said, recognizing the implications of that little Freudian slip. He starts to babble an apology before Meg’s giggle cuts him off, “Its ok Clarence, I know what you meant. Thank you for all of this, for being so kind to me.”

She walks into the back to change as Castiel busies himself with the usual procedures of closing the bar for the night. He closes out the register and wipes down the bar before finally locking the front door. As he turns to head back towards the couch he sees Meg out of the corner of his eye, watching him tentatively from the doorway to the back room. “Meg, is everything alright? Is there something else I can get you?”

Meg seems very nervous and flustered as she struggles to get out the words, “No, Cas, everything is fine, I guess….Oh god I don’t know, everything is all so jumbled up in my head right now and I can’t think straight.”

Castiel sees her shoulders start to tense again and hears the start of sobs before he rushes over and wraps her up in his arms again. He kisses her forehead and whispers in her ear how everything will be ok, that he’s here, whatever he can do to make her feel better. Castiel leads her to the back room and they both sit on the bed together, Meg finally unleashing a torrent of emotions on Castiel.

Castiel just sits there, his arms still wrapped protectively around her as she cries and talks, cries and talks, finally opening up to him about everything. They sit there for god knows how long before Meg has finally cried herself out. She yawns and Castiel takes the opportunity to put her into bed properly. He kisses her on the forehead one last time before he turns to leave before he feels something grab at his hand.

Castiel turns back to see Meg staring up at him with big eyes, asking him to stay even though he knows she won’t say it. He cocks his head and gives that half smile he saves only for her, before nodding. He climbs in bed behind her and pulls her against him, feeling her bury herself into the crook of his of his arm, her head resting on his chest. As Meg slowly drifts off to sleep after what must be the longest night of her life, Castiel can’t help but smile. He could get used to something like this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of the morning after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, mostly because the word count of 666 was to perfect not to keep it that way. Chapter 3 and 4 will be longer, I promise.

The morning sun shone brightly through the small window in the storeroom, glancing off rows of bottles and other bar equipment before finally settling on Castiel’s sleeping face. He grimaced for a moment, groaning as he finally started to wake himself up. He made an attempt to roll out of bed before being stopped by bed’s other occupant, still fast asleep. The previous night’s activities finally rushing back to him, Castiel’s flashback is interrupted by a small sound from the woman next to him as she snuggled closer to him, pushing him back down into the bed and reclaiming her body pillow.

Castiel gave a small chuckle as he settled back down on the bed, his mind replaying the events of the previous evening. He knew this was a big change in his and Meg’s relationship, and while he was certainly worrying a bit about what it could mean, he was also enjoying what had happened maybe a bit more than he should be. _Can anything good come of this?_ Cas thought, a bit more worried than he would like to have been, _I mean, these moments of deep emotional stress and connection never turn out well right?_ Lost in his own thoughts, Castiel didn’t notice the slow strokes he was giving Meg’s hair, or the young woman that was slowly stirring next to him. With a pleasant, but still very sleepy hum she broke Castiel out of his train of thought, “You know Clarence there are more fun ways to wake a girl up.”

Castiel’s face made that same scared, yet adorable look of fear from the previous night when he had inadvertently been flirting with Meg. His hand stopped abruptly and both figures laid still for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes. Meg finally broke the silence with a small giggle, “I said there were more fun ways, not that it wasn’t unwelcome. Besides, it was quite comfortable. You make quite the body pillow, Clarence.”

Castiel’s mind began to race and he began to babble something about how she was feeling and what she might want for breakfast, but Meg quickly shushed him with a finger to his lips. Castiel stayed quiet for a moment, but couldn’t resist his caretaker like nature, always wanting to make sure she was ok. _It’s adorable_ , Meg thought, _but it can be so tiring. Why can’t he just calm down and enjoy what is actually happening?_ Growing tired of his babbling, she decided to shut him up in a way she knew would keep him quiet. Castiel mumbled in surprise as Meg pressed her lips against his in a deep kiss. Still utterly shocked by the turn of events, Cas just laid there while Meg deepened the kiss, her hands moving around his neck and into his hair. Suddenly finding himself, Castiel reciprocated, his arms going around her back, pulling her into him, his tongue starting to explore her mouth. A surprised, but delighted sound came from Meg, but far too soon, she broke the kiss.

Blue eyes again met brown, the two people in the bed breathing quite heavily, unsure of what to say. It was finally Meg who broke the silence, “We can talk about me later Cas, right now I still need my beauty sleep. Now be a good boy and give me back my body pillow,” she finished with another quick yet deep kiss.

Castiel made another sound as the kiss ended to quickly for his liking, causing Meg to smirk to herself. He relented and pulled her close against his chest, the top of her head tucked protectively under his chin. Meg made a happy sound in the back of her throat, almost purring like a cat before settling back down to sleep. Castiel gave a small smile and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head before joining her in the land of dreams. Dreams that would certainly be filled by a dark haired beauty and her fiery kisses.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after part 2

A loud banging noise on the store room door is what finally breaks Castiel out of dream land. He jolts awake with a soft grunt, being careful not to wake the still very asleep Meg lying next to him. The banging becomes more insistent, so Castiel begins to move toward the door as quickly as his still waking body allows. Before he finally extricates himself from the bed he plants a small kiss on Meg’s cheek, getting a small hum of happiness out of the sleeping woman. With a smirk on his lips and a spring in his step he walks over to the door and opens it with a flourish.

Standing in front of him is his boss, Dean Winchester, with a very surly look on his face for ten in the morning. Castiel’s good mood instantly sours with the look his boss is leveling him with and he steadies himself for what is sure to be some sort of brow beating. “Cas, what the hell man?! I called your place twice, the bar twice and have been banging on this door for the better part of thirty minutes! Are you trying to give me a heart atta……Cas why are you only in your underwear in my god damn bar right now?”

“Right, Dean,” Castiel starts to get out, “I was going to call you, but things…”

“Things what Cas?” Dean almost yells at him.

Castiel winces at the volume of his voice, worried about Meg still sleeping, “Please, Dean, keep your voice down I can explain everything. Nothing happened, everything is fine.”

Dean is about to really start laying into Castiel about responsibility and taking care of what isn’t his when he looks past the half-dressed barkeep to see Meg’s cocktail dress on the ground of the storeroom, barely peeking around the half open doorway. “Cas?” Dean says very menacingly, “Did you really bring a girl back to my bar and spend the night with her in my storeroom?!”

Castiel’s face goes white as chalk as he beings to babble out an apology and explanation all at once before Dean cracks a huge smile, laughs and smacks him on the back, “ATTA BOY CAS!” he shouts with exuberance, “I honestly never thought you had it in you. And judging by that dress, oh buddy you hit this one out of the park. Hang on, I have to call Sam, he owes me $100 for losing this bet, thanks for not letting me down” Dean says with a whoop far to frat boy like for Castiel’s liking as he whips his cell out to call his younger brother.

Castiel stands there for a moment, blanking on what to do. The turn of events from fearing for his job and what was going to happen, to suddenly being back in college listening to Dean gloat over the phone about sex he wasn’t having gave him a bit of whiplash. _What the hell just happened?_ Castiel was thinking to himself, still standing stock still in the open door of the storeroom. He watched Dean prancing around for a few more moments before he finished dressing himself and carefully closing the door to the back room. Dean noticed him coming over to talk, so he quickly hung up the phone, “Ok Cas, so spill the beans. Who is this girl? Where did you meet her? She has to be special to get the mighty Castiel to fall to earth with the rest of us mere mortals” Dean says with a laugh.

“Dean, look, it isn’t like that nothi…” Castiel tried to explain what was going on.

“Don’t hold out on me man! Who is she?”

“Dean…”

“I mean that dress, come on. I’m so proud of you little buddy, angel finally clipped his wings. Here let’s have a drink to celebrate,” Dean said as he made his way towards the bar.

“DEAN!” Castiel shouted before kicking himself, remembering the sleeping woman in the other room. He sighed and lowered his voice, “Look, Dean, while I think I appreciate the enthusiasm for my sex life, nothing happened ok? The girl is Meg Masters, and again, nothing happened, can we please drop this, because she is still sleeping in there. I don’t want her to come out here and kill both of us for talking about her while she is twenty feet away in bed.”

Dean did his patented stop and blink, the famous look he gave whenever he got odd or bad news. Castiel was hoping it was the odd feeling and not bad. There was a very awkward silence for a few moments before Dean cleared his throat and asked, “Meg Masters? You mean that girl who came in here 6 months ago and you fell in love with immediately? That Meg?”

“I wouldn’t say I fell in _love_ with her immediately….” Castiel tried to retort.

Dean gave a short laugh, “Whatever helps you sleep at night buddy. Apparently she’s helping with that too,” he finished with a wink.

Castiel sighed again, running his hands through his hair as he tried to come up with a response. _Well at least Dean isn’t angry about any of this_ Castiel thought. He was wondering if he should go into detail about what had happened the previous night, whether he should be talking about Meg’s private affairs without her permission, if he should talk about the kiss this morning. He was so lost in thought he didn’t hear the door opening behind him and was only broken out of his reverie by Dean’s appreciative whistle, “Damn Cas, I knew you had a thing for this woman, but now I can really see why. Be careful, I might try to steal her from you.”

Castiel was about to say something before a “tut tut” from behind him caught his attention. Blushing furiously as he turned, he saw Meg in all her glory. The dress from the previous night back on, leaving little to the imagination, though without her heels she barely came up to Castiel’s chin. Castiel gulped audibly as Dean gave another chuckle and a light punch to the arm, “This is normally where you say good morning, or thanks for last night.”

Meg gave a short laugh that sent Castiel’s heart soaring, “Very funny Dean-o, and I’ll make sure to tell Jo about that little comment about trying your hand at stealing me.”

Dean blanched in fear, quickly backtracking, begging Meg not to tell Jo what he had said. Castiel couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, how quickly Meg had turned everything around in her favor. This was the Meg he was used to, the Meg he knew. This was the Meg that walked into a room and owned it. His thoughts turned dark quickly, remembering how different Meg was last night and what her boss had done to her. That piece of filth had taken his Meg away and he would make the scumbag pay….. _Wait, my Meg_ Castiel thought for a moment before being interrupted by the dark haired temptress in front of him.

“Well, Clarence, thanks for last night, and especially this morning,” she said with a wink, slipping a piece of paper into his hand “Let’s do this again sometime soon, hopefully outside of work,” she punctuated her statement with another deep kiss before punching Dean in the arm and walking out the front door.

Castiel stood there stunned for a moment as Dean’s laughter brought him back into the real world. He looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and saw her number scrawled there and smiled. Dean gave him a light punch in the arm and said “Come on buddy, help me clean up here. Sooner we get that done, the sooner we can get you ready for your date.”

Castiel gave a nod and another smile but was still troubled. He couldn’t get the previous night out of his mind and was worried for Meg. Especially because she had told him about her boss before and he didn’t seem like the man who would take no for an answer. Castiel wasn’t sure what to do, and the only person he could talk to about it was too busy reveling in Castiel’s new sex life to help him out. He had to tell someone, he had to get someone else’s opinion on this whole situation. Suddenly it hit him; there was more than one Winchester he could go to for advice. Smiling to himself and enjoying the remnants of Meg’s kiss, he began to think to the day and night ahead, hoping to make use of that phone number sooner rather than later.


	4. Chapter 4

Nervous was nowhere close to describing what Castiel felt walking through the large glass doors of the Crowley & Winchester law firm later that afternoon. Sheer terror would have been a better way to describe it. Why he was so scared he didn’t really understand but somehow he knew that it could be catastrophic to talk about Meg and her problems behind her back. He weighed the risk of her finding out against his own need to get some perspective on this situation. He knew only one person other than Dean he could talk to, and honestly, talking to the younger of the two Winchesters was probably a smart move on his part. Sam was certainly the brains of the family, but more important, was definitely more level headed than Dean when it came to certain situations, this definitely being one of them. Now all he had to do was find him.

This was easier said than done when it came to the firm. Crowley, the managing partner had a thing for old world gothic architecture and designed the firm as such. To say this place was a labyrinth was putting it mildly. There were times Castiel feared ever getting out of here when he would come her for the occasional Christmas party or a lunch with Sam, Dean and Jo. There were rumors of Crowley putting paintings of Minotaurs in dead end hallways just to complete the motif, but Castiel laughed that off as a rumor. Rumor or not, Castiel definitely felt like he needed a ball of string to navigate his way through the offices from time to time. Finally finding his bearings, he made his way down a long hallway towards Sam’s office before being stopped by a cool, sibilant voice behind him. “Hello, Darling.”

Castiel was stopped dead in his tracks by the voice of Fergus Crowley, managing partner of the firm. Dressed head to toe in his usual black suit, holding a glass of scotch in one hand and some sort of file in the other, he gave Castiel a warm, if not seemingly sinister smile that made the hair on the back of Castiel’s neck stand up. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Crowley, far from it. It’s just; well…he was an intimidating figure. His moniker of “King of the Courtroom” was well earned, and the nickname all the associates gave him, the “King of Hell” was even more apt. Warm and gregarious to his friends and family, cold and ruthless to those who didn’t know or opposed him. And unfortunately, Castiel was never sure as to where he stood with Crowley. Especially with everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours, Castiel was even more at odds with his feelings towards Crowley than he normally was, “Hello Crowley, how has your day been?”

“Oh you know,” he said waving the file around absentmindedly, “A little murder here, some mayhem there. All in all, a very productive day. What about you, Cas? What brings Thursday’s Angel to my neck of the woods today?”

Castiel was already nervous about this entire situation with Meg and certainly didn’t want to involve more people than already were in the loop, so he chose the simplest answer, “Just here to see Sam, we decided to get lunch, catch up and what not.”

“Ah, so you’re not here to pick up Dean’s winnings then?” Crowley said with a smirk at how Castiel’s eyes widened, “Oh Cas, don’t be so hard on yourself, even the most righteous fall to earth eventually. I only wish I had got the chance to corrupt you instead of her. Oh well, your loss. Give Moose my regards and tell him we have deposition prep later today for the Milton case.”

Castiel was grinding his teeth at how word got out so quickly, but then remembered it was the Winchester’s he was dealing with. Well, on Winchester. Castiel wasn’t even sure if the internet existed in this little group of misfits, it might just be Dean telling everybody things. Pushing the thoughts of what he would do to his friend later, he strode into Sam’s office, praying for a bit more maturity than the last two people who had talked to him about Meg today. He knocked twice on the large oak door before walking in slowly, “Hello? Sam are you in here? Do you have a second to talk?”

Sam was typing away at his computer and barely acknowledged Castiel’s presence, “After what you pulled what makes you think you’re welcome here?” he spat out between clenched teeth.

Castiel was shocked, “What….Sam what are you talking about? I haven’t done anything…”

“Don’t give me that crap Castiel!” Sam roared, standing suddenly, “You know exactly what you did, and now you’re going to pay!”

Castiel was rooted on the spot, fear eatched across his face. For one, he had no idea what he did, but more importantly, Sam was a giant of man and could easily squash him like a bug. To say he was scared was putting it mildly. He was trying to figure out what he did and what to say to properly apologize before his noticed Sam fighting back a smile. Unable to hold it in any longer, Sam burst out laughing. Castiel stood for the second time in front of a Winchester that day utterly shocked and confused by what was going on. Sam finally stopped laughing long enough to get out, “Oh my God, you should see you face,” he go out between fits of laughter, “Dean told me you were coming over to collect his winnings so I had to screw with you. Oh my God, Cas you are so easy to mess with it really isn’t fair.”

Sam wiped his eyes and went to his desk to pull an already signed check out and hand it to Castiel, who was still rooted in place in the middle of the office. Finally breaking out of shock, he sat down in front of Sam’s desk with a huff, “As funny as you and you’re brother can be, you’re both a bunch of dicks.”

Sam gave a mocked hurt look before sliding the check across the desk at Castiel, “I’m hurt Cas, beside you just cost me a hundred bucks, I think you should be nicer to the only lawyer you haven’t scared off yet,” he finished with a wink.

“Of course, a hundred dollars, you bill how much an hour? Just go to that deposition prep Crowley was going on about and you’ll make it back in fifteen minutes,” Castiel retorted with a hint of a smile.

“Oh my, a sense of humor, I like this girl already. She found a way to get that stick out of your ass,” Sam said with a wink, “but it is clear something is bothering you, so talk to me.”

Castiel took a deep breath before speaking, “Look, Sam, I am not coming at this from a legal perspective and this is uncharted waters for me. More importantly, I need your word that this won’t get out. I don’t think Meg would like the idea of someone talking about her personal problems without her permission.”

“Wait, Meg? As in Meg Masters?” Sam said with a slight hitch in his voice, “You slept with the Meg `The Demon of Death Valley’ Masters. Jesus Christ man, I knew you liked em crazy, but even this is a stretch.”

Castiel felt his hands tighten into fists, “What’s wrong with Meg?” he said, unable to contain the edge to his voice.

Sam composed himself, noticing the tone that Castiel was taking, “I’m sorry, Cas, that was an involuntary response. It’s just; look she is one of the best lawyers at Alistair, Azazel & Lucifer. If you have seen her in the courtroom you would know why she has the nickname. Any suit that has some sort of death involved and she will win it, it’s almost,” Sam paused, looking for the right word, “Unnatural.”

Castiel let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding, but was relieved. There were no great shocks from Sam’s revelation and Sam did not think ill of her, so he would be likely to help. Sam gave Castiel a questioning look, “So what is up that you need my help with Meg? Is everything ok?”

“No, Sam, not it is not. You have to swear to me what I say here does not leave the room.”

Sam nodded tersely as Castiel told him everything, from what had happened as soon as Meg walked in the door the previous night to this morning, leaving out some more personal details on his end. Sam sat and listened intently, only offering the occasional nod or hiss through his teeth when he heard what had happened to her. Castiel ended the story with a lingering question, “So what do I do Sam? You and I both know how powerful Alistair, Azazel and Lucifer are, but I can’t let them get away with this! And you know that they won’t let her try to speak up against them, they’ve got too much to lose if she does. What do I do?”

Sam sat there for a moment, letting everything sink in. He knew exactly what the Prime Evils over there would do if they found out Meg had told someone else. Hell, even if she hadn’t told Castiel, they would probably end up doing something. He had rumors of corruption from that firm, bribery and under the table dealings but nothing that could ever be confirmed. However, he knew enough that Meg would be in trouble, but traditional help would not be something she could turn to. Gathering his thoughts, he finally spoke, “Alright Cas, here is what we do. First off, treat like a human being. I know you, you’re going to want to go all Mother Goose on her and that will only backfire on you. It’s clear you’re crazy about this girl and want to help, but for the love of God, do not try to smother her with this. She opened up to you on her own, let her do it again. If she needs help, Meg will come to people she trusts for it. Until then, just let things progress as they will. In the meantime, I’m going to look into those three and see if I can dig anything up, see if there is actual credence to a threat against Meg, ok?”

Castiel nodded, knowing that Sam was right. He felt it in the bar the other night when he tried to touch her that first time. He knew he had to take things slow, for all the bravado and strength Meg had, she was putting on a front right now. _Give her time_ , Castiel thought; _Let her set the pace, just do your best to be there for her when she needs it_. He thanked Sam again and made his way out of the large law firm. Once he was in his car, he noticed a text from Dean telling him he had the night off. Something about a “round two” with his morning guest. Castiel sighed, but then thought more about the little piece of paper tucked in his jacket pocket and smiled. _It’s not like it would hurt to try taking her out_ , Castiel reasoned, _she seemed interested enough to give me her number, and it is a good way to keep an eye on her_.

Castiel pulled out his phone, his fingers shaking more than he would have liked as he dialed the numbers and waited with bated breath, hoping for an answer. He heard a click from the end of the line and a voice purred out, “Clarence, what a lovely surprise, I was wondering when I would hear from you.”

Castiel gulped and with a shaky voice replied, “Hi Meg, I know this is kind of abrupt but would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

The silence from her end was deafening and Castiel’s hear sank with each passing moment. Finally a giggle came from the other end that sent his heart soaring, “Sure Cas, why not. Where are you taking me?”

Feeling much bolder than he should he said, “Have you ever had a trained chef cook for you?”

Castiel could almost hear her eyebrow rising on the other end, “So you can cook too, what’s next, carpentry?”

Castiel smiled to himself, “Well you’ll just have to wait and see. Be at my place around 7?”

“Sure thing Clarence sounds like fun.”

Giving her his address, Castiel hung up, discovering his heart beating much faster that he thought it should be. Shaking it off and with a big smile on his face, he made his way home, already prepping the menu for the evening ahead.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cooking for Meg in his home. What could possibly go wrong?

Castiel was lucky he was cooking and that was a muscle memory sort of thing for him, otherwise his hands would be shaking far too much to get this meal made. He had mentally kicked himself most of his drive home for pulling what he pulled. With everything he had talked to Sam about, on top of his worries for Meg and what was going he just _had_ to go and ask Meg out on a date. To his house. Where he would be cooking for her. _Well when I make a dumb decision I do it all the way_ , Castiel thought ruefully, _there is something admirable in its hardheadedness I suppose_.

A whistling pot interrupted his self-deprecation momentarily as he went over to the stove to check the water and start the pasta he had purchased earlier today. Benny’s old words of “buy it fresh” echoed in his mind as Castiel gave a small smile for his old friend. How he would be laughing at what Castiel was doing right now and the trouble he had gotten himself into over a girl. _I miss you, you old bastard_ , he thought. Satisfied at the cooking pasta, he turned to the bread situation, trying to decide if he had enough time to make his home made garlic bread. The question was answered for him when he heard a small rap at the door. Still lost in thoughts of bread, garlic, spices and pasta he went to open the door and greet his late night guest. Not really paying attention, he opened the door and was struck dead in his tracks by Meg.

Meg stood in his doorway, a smirk on her lips and that one eyebrow cocked as she looked at him. Castiel was stunned at how good she looked, even in such normal clothes. She was wearing her favorite pair of dark jeans, motorcycle boots and leather jacket. What got him was the fact she was wearing the shirt he gave her last night, his shirt. Her dark hair fell in waves, cascading around her shoulders softly. Her brown eyes twinkled mischievously as she giggled and greeted Castiel, “This is normally where you say hello and invite me in, Clarence.”

Castiel snapped himself out of fantasy land, mentally kicking himself for staring at Meg, “Right, come in, please. Can I take your coat or anything?”

Meg shrugged off her jacket, moving idly throughout the house. Castiel smiled at her as she wandered, looking a little like a cat in her movements, taking everything in. He turned back to the kitchen to continue work on dinner when he heard Meg follow him. Still chopping some garlic he turned his head and said, “Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes or so.”

Meg smiled and made an affirmative sound in her throat, allowing Castiel to turn back and focus on the food. It was Meg’s turn to stare at him now. This was a side of Castiel she hadn’t ever thought he might have. Granted, Meg never expected to end up in his house being cooked for, but she was getting ahead of herself. The tall, dark and handsomely brooding bartender from the Roadhouse seemed in his element. Hell, other than when she was around him at the bar joking and laughing with him, she had never seen him look so happy. He had a small smile on his lips and a lightness to him that seemed to fill the kitchen.

Moving past how happy he looked, Meg finally started to _look_ at him, and what she found was certainly not unpleasant. Wearing some light blue jeans and a black button down, the entire ensemble was complete by the white apron he had wrapped around his waist. It was adorable and a little bit sexy all at the same time. She decided to tip the scales on the side of adorable with the little bit of flour on the side of his face and the look he gave the vegetables as he was chopping them. More importantly, for the first time in weeks she felt relaxed, safe even. Even having only said a few words to each other, Meg felt comfortable in the silence. That no matter how crazy her life was going, while inside this house, with Castiel with her, nothing bad would happen.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of noodles being drained, plates being filled and the scrape of chairs in the dining room. Meg smiled as she followed Castiel, blushing a little and giggling at how he pulled her chair out for her. Nothing was heard for the next few minutes as they both just enjoyed the food, Castiel finally breaking the silence, “So how do you like it?

Meg moaned appreciatively as she finished chewing, “It’s amazing Clarence, first home cooked meal I have had in a while actually. Hours at work mean take out or whatever fast food is open late. This is amazing.”

Meg immediately regretted mentioning work, as she saw a look cross Castiel’s face that told her that would be the next topic of conversation if she didn’t think fast. There was no way in hell she was going to deal with that right now, not with him, especially after last night. So she did what she was paid very well to do, think on her feet, “Alright Clarence, spill the beans, how did a bartender from a respectable dive learn to cook this well? I mean you should be working in a white hat place, not Dean’s backend dump.”

Meg was still a little worried when the look didn’t leave Castiel’s face, but was relieved when he took a breath and began his story, “I was a soldier.”

“It almost feels like another lifetime ago, but it was maybe fifteen years back. I was a young kid, no real direction in life so decided to try to do something good with my time. I had family who were in the military before, but when my parents found out they were shocked. Needless to say I was the black sheep from then on. In my youth and arrogance I decided to join the Marines, I wanted to be the `first in, last out’ kind of person. Well everything was going fine; they even promoted me, had a specialized job and finally felt like I was doing some good. Of course that’s when everything went to hell, because there can only be so much good for so long.”

Castiel swallowed hard, talking about it bringing up all the old memories, “My commanding officer was named Benny and had been a trained chef in his previous life. Of course, after his wife left him and too his kids, he decided to lose himself in something new. He was the one who turned me on to cooking. Told me he thought I had a knack for it, that when I was out I should take it up.”

Meg smiled, oblivious to the pain on Castiel’s face, “Can I meet this Benny? Seems like a fun sort of guy to be around.”

Meg saw Castiel stiffen in his chair and knew she had made a mistake, “He’s dead,” Castiel said softy, before launching into the end of his tale.

“We were out somewhere on some errand that was supposed to be harmless. They are always supposed to be harmless when the shit hits the fan. We were ambushed; RPG took out two of the jeeps. The rest of us just started shooting and running as fast as we could. Saw Benny at the rear of the retreat, making sure everyone got out before another rocket came in and blasted him. When we got to him there was most of his upper body left and bits of a leg here and there, but he was already gone. We got him up on a stretcher and ran as fast as we could back to base. I decided that learning to cook would be the best way I could honor his memory. Asked for my transfer the next day, served out my remaining time on the mess staff.”

Meg could feel tears in her eyes at his story. They weren’t tears because of how sad it was, but because of how Castiel looked. He sat there stone faced, not feeling anything about it. Clearly he had struggled for years to move past this and she had just dragged him right back through it. It made her heart break for him. Castiel looked up and saw the tears in her eyes and panicked, “Oh, God Meg, I’m sorry. I’ve ruined the evening, please don’t cry.”

She shook her head at him, a warm feeling washing over her. Even in one of his most painful memories he was still worried about her. She got up and went to living room, sitting down on the couch. Castiel followed quietly behind her, not sure if he should join her or not before deciding to throw caution to the wind. Meg turned to him, tears still shining on her cheeks, “I’m sorry Cas, I didn’t mean to put you through that. I feel like an idiot.”

Castiel felt his heart melt as she used his actual name, “Meg it’s fine, really. You had no idea.”

Meg sighed and nodded slightly, leaning into him. Castiel laid back on the couch, letting her settle on top of him, her head resting on his chest. His arms came up instinctively, wrapping around her. Meg felt calm and at peace, as if that same lightness that filled the kitchen earlier was filling her now. His arms felt like wings, swaddling her in comfort and calm and she snuggled down deeper into his arms.

Castiel smiled, knowing that even if things were going so quickly, it felt _right_. That no matter what happened, things would ok, and this would be ok. He saw Meg start to nod off a bit and told her to take all the time she needed, he wasn’t going anywhere. She cracked one eye open and looked up at him, “Good boy, Clarence. You’re getting into this body pillow role of yours very well. And damn right you’re not going anywhere; I have some plans with you once I sleep of that amazing dinner of yours.”

She capped her sentence off with a searing kiss that warmed Castiel to his core. He made a content noise in the back of his throat as both bodies settled down on the couch, just enjoying being together. They both nodded off, hands entwined in each other’s, smiles on both of their faces.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel and Meg finally have to confront what happened the night she came to him in the bar.

Castiel thought it was the thunder that woke him at first. Shaking sleepiness from his eyes, he realized that it was Meg’s screams. He frantically searched the room for her, finally finding her curled into a ball, rocking back and forth on his armchair. He approaches slowly, cautiously, thankful that she has at least stopped her screams. The boom of thunder breaks the silence as Meg suddenly jerks her head, staring at Castiel.

Her eyes are wide with fear, the look she is giving almost rabid. Castiel knows that Meg is somewhere else, the storm triggered something. He shudders, remembering back to some of his comrades suffering the same way. Old training surfaces in his head, trying to remember how to calm Meg down. Castiel slowly sank to his knees, his hands up and open, palms facing Meg. She watched him very cautiously, her body still tense, ready to strike at any moment. Castiel slowly worked his way to where she sat, making small sounds of comfort and encouragement, assuring her that he was not going to hurt her. He finally reached the edge of the chair and held his arms out. Both figures sat there, stock still. Castiel knew it was now just a waiting game, he had to let Meg come to him, had to allow her to calm down and make the decision that he was not an enemy. It could be minutes or hours, but Castiel was patient. He slowly began to realize that for Meg, he could have the patience of an angel if needed.

Castiel did not know how long had passed since he had closed the gap between him and Meg, but she finally started to calm down. Castiel could see some of the tension leaving her shoulders, her breathing becoming slightly steadier. Meg looked up at him, her eyes no longer filled with terror. Slowly, hesitantly Meg climbed off the chair and sank into his embrace. Castiel knew he had to move quickly, that even if the calm lasted, he needed to get her into a place where she could feel safe. Wordlessly he carried her to the bedroom, laying her down and tucking her into the large bed. Neither of them had made a sound outside of Meg’s screams earlier and after settling her down, Castiel spoke softly, choosing his words carefully, “Meg, what just happened was a triggered traumatic incident. You had a large panic attack and were reliving some sort of threat on your life. Where you are right now is safe, you can’t be hurt here and I am going to help you. What I need you to do is try to sleep and relax. Keep taking deep breaths and in the morning we will see how you are doing. No matter what you feel, just know you are safe here. No one will hurt you.”

Castiel pulled a chair up to the side of the bed, putting it a small, but comfortable distance from where Meg was laying down. Castiel knew that the important thing right now was to give Meg space; she had to calm down and re-engage with him on her own terms. Most important was that he avoids physical contact until the morning, he didn’t know what the event she was reliving was but he had an idea. If he were to just hold her hand he could set her off again, as much as it pained him to think it. It was even harder to see that look in her eyes, the same look from that night in the bar, wanting to crawl into bed with her and make it ok again. He set his jaw, but couldn’t help letting his hand reach out for hers. Feeling her fingers entwine with his and watching her slowly drift off, he began his watch for the night.

Meg woke up the next morning to the sounds of sizzling bacon and toast popping out of the toaster. She wiped the sleep from her eyes, still a little groggy as to where she was. _Wait…not my bed…Why is there breakfast if I’m not cooking it…Oh, right, Cas_ , her brain slowly starting to stir. Shivering when the memories of last night came rushing back to her, Meg timidly makes her way out into the living room, peering around the corner to watch Castiel make breakfast.

She see a pot of coffee happily bubbling and a stack of pancakes already made and covered in syrup. Eggs are place next to them and a plate of bacon and toast come next. Finally a large mug of coffee and everything is stacked on a tray. Castiel turns, starting to walk toward the bedroom when he sees Meg spying on him. A soft smile crosses his face and Meg blushes at being caught. Attempting to deflect from her embarrassment she quips, “Breakfast in bed, Clarence? A little clichéd after the first date don’t you think?”

Castiel gives a soft laugh, “Who said it was for you? Maybe I like to pamper myself sometimes.”

Meg rolled her eyes and smiled at the smiling, dopey angel of a man in front of her. _Her angel_ , her mind said as she bounded back to the bedroom, planning to take advantage of the meal Castiel had prepared. Castiel sat with her as she ate, taking small bites and nibbles from the left overs or when she offered a forkful of food to him. It was calm, happy and peaceful, which is exactly what Castiel needed. He enjoyed the soft moment with Meg, and was selfishly trying to delay the inevitable conversation that came after breakfast.

Meg swallowed the last bit of food, setting aside the tray and staring deep into Castiel’s eyes. She was thinking the same thing he was all through breakfast, and knew that she couldn’t avoid it anymore. She saw the softness in his eyes, knowing he would wait until she was ready to begin her story. She wasn’t sure if she felt better with him keeping his distance or if she wanted to be wrapped up in his arms again, but she had to deal with that problem after. Right now it was all about finding the words without shutting down.

“It wasn’t just the office party that went wrong. It’s hard to talk about being a lawyer, we see things differently. Right and wrong are still there, but it’s more fluid. The degrees are different. I…I’m not a bad person Castiel, no matter what you may hear about me or my nicknames. Yes, I’m an excellent lawyer, cut throat and a bit of a bitch sometimes, but I am not a bad person. I just excel at what I do, which is the law. What I don’t do is break it.”

Meg swallowed hard, her fists balling up in the blankets, slightly shaking as she continued, “I know that working for a giant and well known firm means you sometimes rub shoulders with people that aren’t always on the level. I’ve saved conglomerates from having to pay out more money for wrongful deaths, saved oil companies millions in liability and a lot of things that people will spit at me for. But I refuse to defend people who truly are evil. I won’t go against my own causes. And, I thought for a while I had finally found a firm that would allow me to do that. I got to hand pick cases and everything was on the level. Until about a month ago.”

Castiel could see tears streaming down Meg’s face as she struggled to get the words out, “The reason we did so well, why the war chest never ran dry and the cases were always so easy was because the big three were in deep with bad people. Paying off judges, bribing witnesses, involved in gangs and drug laundering. I stumbled across all of this on accident. Some asshole who left some files open when I was doing case research. Well word got back to Lucifer that I knew something. That leads us to that night.”

Meg turned, looking at Castiel with a hard, but vulnerable look in her eyes, “He cornered me in my office, asking me if I had seen the file, what I was going to do. Offered me a named partnership if I joined in, kept the ‘good thing’ going as he called it. I told him to fuck off, that I would bring the firm down around his head brick by brick, by myself if I had to. Well that got him angry. Next thing I knew he slapped me and I was pinned against the desk. He…he got part of my dress up and…and…”

Meg’s sobs and panicked breathing stopped her story. Castiel whispered that it was ok, to just keep taking deep breaths. Meg calmed herself before continuing, “I kneed him in the family jewels and broke his nose. I was just trying to get out of there. Before I could get to the stairs and get the hell out he screamed that I would pay. That he had ‘special people to deal with sluts that didn’t know their place’. I couldn’t think of where to go, because I knew they would carry through on the threat, after the resources I saw them with. Next thing I knew I was at the bar.”

Castiel ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair, Meg’s soft sobs filling the room. He looked at her, staring into her soft brown eyes. Slowly, cautiously, he raised his hands to her face and wiped away the tears. He slid next to her in the bed, letting Meg settle against him, wrapping his arms around her. She slowly relaxed into him, snuggling hard against his chest, trying to get to his warmth and protection. Castiel turned her face towards his, voice filled with more emotion that either of them expected, “I’m so sorry Meg. No one should have to ever go through that. I promise you, we’re going to make them pay. Just rest now, I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Meg smiled through her tears, slowly slipping back into unconsciousness. Before sleep overtook her, she heard Castiel whisper, “I’ll protect you, I promise.”

She fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, her guardian angel protecting her from all that the demons of the world might throw at them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The forces of good prepare for battle against the Prime Evils.

“Look, Cas, I know I said I would help you, but this is crazy you know that right? Like I get that you’re fond of her, but do you actually know what you are saying?”

Castiel looked fondly at Sam, if not a little irritated. He knew that Sam meant well, that in the end he was trying to be the sensible one in a bar full of maniacs, but it was starting to drag on a bit too much. It also didn’t help that Meg was sitting at the bar not ten feet away and was able to listen to Sam go on for thirty minutes about how dumb an idea it was to go up against the “Prime Evils” as they had been dubbed. Castiel glanced over at Meg nursing her beer at the bar and met her eyes with a soft smile, as if to apologize for Sam. She just winked at him, calming Castiel down in the way only she could. Sam was getting more irritated by the second as he realized Castiel was now ignoring him, “Cas, I get it. And I’m your friend here, we all are, but you realize how insane of a plan this is right? Ignoring the idea of breaking into one of the most secure buildings in the city, you honestly think these animals with the sort of connections they have won’t see this coming?”

Sam was about to continue before Dean clapped him on the shoulder, slowly shaking his head “Give it up Sammy, once Cas has made his mind up there is no changing it. Besides, it could be fun; we haven’t raised hell in a long time.”

Castiel left the two brothers to continue their argument, but not before giving Dean a smile that said “thank you”. Dean nodded, understanding that while Sam was trying his best to avoid conflict, in the end he would always back his friend’s play. Castiel sighed, knowing that there was wisdom in Sam’s words; the plan was not exactly foolproof. Beyond the logistical issues of breaking into a secure law firm, finding the information and getting out before people noticed there was the “demonic element” that Meg has so properly coined. Alistair, Azazel and Lucifer were all ruthless individuals, and if they were even in half as deep as Meg claimed they were, this would not be easy.

Of course, the little ragtag army had a few things going for them. They had former soldiers in the likes of Castiel and Dean. Sam had the full weight of his firm behind them to fight any charges should they be caught and most importantly there was Meg and Jo. Meg hadn’t had any of her security clearances revoked, since the Prime Evil’s didn’t want to raise suspicion as to why their best lawyer had been fired for no reason. Jo, on the other hand was just scary. No one really knew what she did, all they knew was she did it well and that Jo was technically not her real name – a testament to how happy and relieved that she was on their side. Castiel shook his head and smiled as he walked over to Meg sitting at the bar, _maybe this won’t be a total disaster_ he thought.

“You know you don’t have to do this,” Meg mumbled into her drink.

Castiel smiled and put his hand on top of hers. He was very happy that she didn’t immediately pull it away this time. He understood, the whirlwind of emotions these past few days, a bunch of strangers coming out of the wood work to help her and not to mention whatever was happening between the two of them. It certainly had thrown Castiel for a loop; he could only imagine how Meg felt. Castiel smiled at her as she pulled her hand from his and said, “Meg even if it has been a while, I am still a soldier. That means I help people. There’s no way I’m letting you do this alone.”

Meg gave him a grim smile, “What so you’re my guardian angel now, Clarence? Really know how to make a girl’s nethers quiver,” she finished as she drained her beer.

Castiel gave a soft chuckle, “I do know how to do that. And I still don’t know who Clarence is.”

Meg cocked an eyebrow at him, “We get out of this, I have a movie to show you. Someone like you, you’ll enjoy it quite a bit.”

Castiel’s retort was cut off by the heavy thump of two large bags Jo had finished fishing out of the store room. The room went silent as she opened both, set out several large, dangerous looking handguns and SMGs and immediately began to methodically and quickly break them down. Jo didn’t notice the stares until halfway through the second gun, shrugging while continuing to clean, “What, you said this could get dangerous. I figured we could use a little insurance.”

Meg whistled appreciatively and Castiel shook his head, looking towards Dean and said, “Are you ever going to tell us what it is your wife did in a former life?”

Dean shook his head with a chuckle, “Hell no buddy. Just do what I do, know what questions you actually want to know the answers to,” he finished with a kiss to Jo’s cheek.

Jo gave a small blush and handed Dean a gun to start cleaning. Castiel followed his lead, quickly stripping down an M14 carbine and a 9mm. So lost in the muscle memory and mechanics of what he was doing Castiel didn’t notice Meg staring at him. Clearing his throat uncomfortably he asked her what she was looking at. Giving him a small, yet concerned smile she said, “Well you said you were a soldier and I believed you. Still, it’s a sight to see you doing something like this. Whole new side to you feathers.”

“So I guess the angel metaphors are going to stick huh?” Castiel punctuated his question with a quick pull on the slide of the pistol.

Meg just gave him a wink and a smile. Castiel took the time to show Meg how to properly clean, oil and put the gun back together. All four worked for the next half hour of the weaponry before Jo finally packed it all back away. Meg took a long gulp of a new beer before laying out the plan of attack.

Jo and Meg would be the main recon force, using Meg’s credentials to get in and find the information. Cas and Dean would be on lookout in the lobby of the archives while Jo and Meg searched. Sam was going to be establishing an alibi in case he was needed to bail them out of prison later. Garth, Jo’s younger brother, was the getaway driver, but hopefully they wouldn’t need him. In case things did go south they were supposed to scatter immediately, then rendezvous at Sam’s firm the next day. Everyone sat, nodding their heads and weighing the gravity of what they were about to do.

Meg wasn’t sure what she was feeling. Usually so calm and collected, to say she was out of her element would have been an understatement. She wasn’t used to working with a team, and certainly was not comfortable turning to people for help. The last week had been an eye opening and horizon expanding experience for her. On top of that, the feelings she was developing for one bartender turned chef turned guardian angel certainly wasn’t helping. Shaking her head she tried banishing the thoughts of something happening to him, trying to ignore the knots her stomach was twisting in to at the thought of it. Clearing her throat she began to speak, “Look, I understand the danger of all of this. I appreciate all of you choosing to help, especially since most of you only met me tonight. At the same time, I want none of you getting hurt. So please, don’t do this just because you feel sorry for me, or owe Clarence here a favor. I can do this on my own, and above all else, I don’t want your blood on my hands.”

The room fell silent; everyone in it up to this point had been ignoring most of the connotations of the mission they were all about to embark upon. Meg sighed, both happy she had these people willing to help but at the same time fearing for their safety. The silence was broken by a loud cocking sound as Castiel finished his last bit of fiddling with his M14. He gave everyone a grim smile, but no one could deny the confidence in his voice, “Well? What are we waiting for, let’s go take down the Devil.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel, Meg, Dean and Jo all make their assault on Meg's old firm. Will the plan go off without a hitch?

It all went to hell much faster than anyone would have liked. In the back of their minds, everyone going on this little mission knew that it wouldn’t go exactly according to plan, complications always arise. No one was ready for what ended up happening; the fact that no one was killed is something of a small miracle. Castiel can’t focus on that right now, as he is currently engaging a small army of goons sent by the Prime Evils to take them out in the middle of their information raid. _Meg, Jo, wherever you are, hurry up_ Castiel thought, slamming another clip into his gun.

_30 minutes ago_

Castiel, Meg, Jo and Dean all quickly made their way into the building. Luckily, Meg had guessed correctly, her credentials getting them where they needed to go. Riding the elevator to the 25th floor went without a hitch. Castiel took the moment of solitude to give Meg’s hand a soft squeeze, smiling at her. Meg returned the gesture, and even though she wouldn’t say it out loud, she was grateful Castiel was there. It made going back into this hell hole a little more bearable.

Upon reaching their destination, the two pairs split. Jo and Meg made their way to the archive room while Dean and Castiel set out patrolling the floor and ensuring that they were in the clear. About ten minutes passed before Dean finally broke the silence, “So you really are crazy about this girl aren’t you?”

Castiel paused, wanting to scold Dean, to tell him that this wasn’t the time for gossip, that there was a very dangerous job to be done. At the same time, he couldn’t help but smile. This had been the most interesting week of his life. Castiel gave Dean a small smile, “Well if I recall, getting Jo to agree to a first date required you out shooting her at the range.”

Dean puffed his chest up proudly, “First and only time, but hey it got the job done.”

Castiel gave a soft laugh, “Dean, come on. With how skilled Jo is do you really think you beat her that day? If I recall, her exact words were ‘he’s lucky he’s so cute’.”

Dean made a face at his friend, “Come on man…Fine, and I’ll just save the story of how you and Meg ended up in the store room of a bar for your wedding then.”

The good natured ribbing was interrupted by the screech of the building’s intercom, setting both men immediately on edge. They both readied their weapons as three voice began to echo in the empty building, “Oh dear oh dear oh dear, what have we here Azazel? Some little birdies far away from the nest?” a sickeningly smooth voice asked.

“We Al, it appears we have some naughty little snoops going through our things. That is just unacceptable, isn’t it Luci?” Azael answered.

A calm, powerful but equally terrifying voice came over the intercom, “I agree wholeheartedly gentlemen. Sick the hellhounds on these interlopers. They’re ruining my evening.”

The sound of laughter was cut off by the pounding of footsteps in the stairwell and muffled voices of clearly armed men. Castiel grabbed his radio, cursing as he contacted the women still searching, “Girls, I would hurry up if I were you, we’re about to have company.”

“Going as fast as we can tree hopper. You and Dean be good little soldier boys and keep our guests entertained for the time being,” Meg’s voice crackled back at him.

Castiel sighed, knowing that the sarcasm wasn’t meant to be hurtful. He could hear the edge in Meg’s voice, could hear the fear that was threatening to swallow her up. He cast a glance over to Dean who was making a makeshift barricade for them to fight behind. Dean gave him one of his patented winks before pulling back the slide on his M4 with a loud click, “Ready when you are ‘angel’,” Dean said with a cocky grin.

The fighting had been raging for about fifteen minutes and both Dean and Castiel were exhausted. Aside from being outnumbered, the stress of being thrown right back into combast after years of civilian life was jarring to say the least. A bigger issue was that they were being forced back through the cubicle forest towards where Jo and Meg were searching, closing their window and avenues of escape faster than either man were comfortable with. Castiel gritted his teeth as several bullets came whizzing by his head a little too close for comfort. _Fuck this_ , he thought, reaching into his bag for Jo’s “extra insurance”. Pulling the pin and tossing the grenade, he pulled Dean behind the cover a partially destroyed cubicle as the blast shredded a good number of their pursuers and giving them a moment of respite.

“JESUS CAS, what the hell was that for!”

Castiel just shrugged and grimaced, turning back towards the hallway that Meg and Jo had gone down earlier, praying that they had found what they needed. Gunfire erupting behind him forced Castiel’s attention back to the task at hand. Another fierce ten minutes of fighting went by before a hand on Castiel’s shoulder roused him from his battle induced haze. Jo was motioning for him and Dean to follow her, patting her bag to silently answer Castiel’s question as to whether they were successful in their mission.

Taking a moment to rest in the stairwell, Castiel frantically searched for Meg over the radio. Getting no response he turned to Jo, a manic glint in his eyes, “Where is Meg?!”

Jo grimaced, nursing a shoulder that was grazed by a few errant shots, “She said something about getting some final things from her office, told us to go ahead. Gave me the file on the big three to keep it safe.”

Castiel stiffened, immediately turning back to try and go find Meg, only to be stopped by Dean;s hand on his shoulder, “Cas, buddy, she’ll be fine. We need to get out of here.”

“Go on ahead you two; I need to make sure she is ok.”

Ignoring Dean’s cursing behind him, Castiel made his way back towards Meg’s office, a silent prayer for her safety on his lips. Finally reaching it, he was stopped dead in his tracks, blood running cold in his veins. Icy talons of fear gripped at his heart and he almost collapsed to the floor.

Sitting in her chair, Meg’s face was bruised and bloody, clearly having just been on the end of a vicious beating. Standing in front of her, holding a gun and a very wicked looking knife had to have been Lucifer. The tall man stood with his back to Castiel, his blond hair plastered to the top of his head with sweat and blood. Turning at the disturbance, his cold blue eyes glinted when they saw Castiel frozen in place, a wicked smile growing as realization dawned to Lucifer as to who was standing in front of him.

Keeping his eyes locked on Castiel, Lucifer hit Meg hard across the face with the pistol. Hearing her strangled cry of pain set something off in Castiel, an inhuman noise coming out of him. He reached for his handgun but never got there. The last thing he remembered hearing was Dean’s strangled shout behind him and the sound of a gun going off.

A burning sensation in his chest.

Castiel felt the solid oak of the Roadhouse’s bar beneath him. He tried to breath but his chest was on fire, pain shooting from his ribs all the way up to his head. Coughing hard he tried to calm down his adrenaline fueled and pained body. Vaguely he felt the soft scratchiness of bandages on his chest, instead trying to focus on the voices he heard coming from the bar store room.

Dean came out, noticing Castiel trying to sit up, rushing over to steady his friend, “Whoa, whoa easy there buddy. Not every day you take a 9mm to the chest and live to talk about it. Just relax for a moment.”

Castiel nodded, grunting softly in pain. Steadying himself on a chair, he turned to Dean, “Where’s Meg?”

The look on Dean’s face told him everything he needed to know. Castiel felt his heart sinking, tears starting to well up in his eyes. He felt his fingers tighten into a fist as Dean laid a piece of paper out in front of him. Castiel couldn’t help but notice dried blood on the edges of the word page, obscuring some of the text.

_Dearest Castiel,_

_It appears you and I are at an impasse. You have something I want, and I have something you most certainly do as well. So I propose a little trade. My information for little Meg here. If not, well I hate to hurt a woman, but I can only contain my friends Alistair and Azazel for so long. They are not at forgiving as I am. So come meet me at the old Singer factory on the edge of town, tomorrow at midnight. Come alone or little Meg here will be much worse for wear when you get her back._

_Ta,_

_Lucifer_

Castiel felt his vision go red, the paper crinkling in his hands. His last thoughts before his vision went black were of Meg in that chair, Lucifer standing over her. Attempting to stand, he felt his legs give out, Dean’s voice echoing in his mind as he collapsed onto the bar.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel plans Meg's rescue. But will he be able to stop Lucifer and save his demon?

“Cas, listen to me, you cannot go out there alone, alright? Hey, hey man look! I get it that you are crazy about this girl, but there is a plan here, we need to find it before you go and get yourself captured or killed ok! Then what good are you to Meg then, huh?”

Castiel knew Dean was right, he knew that what he was doing was foolish, rash and not befitting the soldier that he was. Of course, the logical side of his brain was being drowned out by Lucifer’s mocking laughter and the sound of Meg’s scream as she was pistol whipped in front of him. Finally sitting down after Dean’s incessant pestering Castiel was able to calm his thoughts. Formulating a plan in his head, he called Jo into the room. Speaking slowly, Castiel began to lay out their rescue of Meg.

Meg groaned, wincing in pain with each small movement. Finally coming to, she remembered where she was. _Right, the Singer factory, I’m still a hostage_ she grumbled in her head. Sitting up as much as the handcuffs and stiff backed chair would allow, she did her best to get the blood caked hair out of her face and take in her surroundings. _Ok. Alright, let’s focus up girl, time to find a way out of here._ Meg made a few pulls at the cuffs, finding them just as solid as the chair she was in. Looking around the room, she found it bare, nothing she could use to fight her way out. With how much pain she felt wracking her small frame, Meg was unsure if she even had the strength to fight her way out of anything right about now. Hearing the scrape of a lock, Meg steeled herself for whatever was coming through that door.

Finding a pair of cold, ice blue eyes staring her down did not help the small ball of fear that was beginning to grow in her stomach as Meg watched Lucifer slowly walk towards her. She couldn’t take her eyes off the wicked looking knife in his hands, and noted it was already covered in dried blood; her blood. Lucifer noticed where her eyes went and chuckled softly, “Don’t worry darling, I won’t be using this on you again. Well, as long as you and your boyfriend behave that is.”

Meg’s eyes widened, fear gripping at her heart. _Oh shit did they get Castiel? Idiot, I told him to go, why doe he never listen that stupid featherhead._ Lucifer noticed her distress and gave another soft, evil laugh, “No no dear, you little boyfriend isn’t in my clutches quite yet. I’ve arranged a little trade. That naughty file you and your friends decided to take for you. All in all I think it is fair, don’t you?”

Meg’s answer was to spit in his face. Lucifer sighed dramatically before backhanding her hard, making sure the pommel of the knife caught Meg in the forehead. Groaning in pain and feeling the blood trickle down into her eyes; Meg did the only thing she could in her position, “Fuck you Lucifer. You think that Castiel is going to let this go without a fight you’re dead wrong.”

Lucifer cocked an eyebrow at her, “Pray tell Meagan, why is that? Because little soldier boy has got his heart a flutter for you?”

Meg gave Lucifer a grin that even chilled his blood for a moment, “No, you pompous son of a bitch. It’s because angels trump demons every time. And I’ve got Thursday’s in my back pocket.”

As if on cue, loud crashing sounds followed by several gunshots were heard just outside the door. Cursing loudly, Lucifer turned on his heel, quickly striding out of the room. Walking out into the old office atrium, he came face to face with a very angry looking Castiel. Lucifer eyed him carefully, taking note of his bloody knuckles and vengeful look in his eyes. Scoffing Lucifer finally addressed the man, “So you must Castiel, Meg has had so much to say about you. Did you bring my file?”

Not answering, Castiel simply threw a manila envelope at the feet of Lucifer. Smiling with surprise he quickly opened it, eyes widening in horror at the pictures he saw. Alistair and Azazel tied to separate chairs with guns to their heads, bodies adorned with marks of at least several hours of severe torture. Hands shaking, Lucifer turned his gaze back to Castiel, spitting out his next words, “What the fuck do you think you are doing?!”

Ignoring his question, Castiel started to slowly circle the blond, “Where is Meg?”

Lucifer began to spit out another insult before Castiel stopped him, “I’ll let you in on a little secret, you can’t stop any of this. We’ve sent the file to the right authorities, Sam Winchester and Fergus Crowley, who was utterly delighted by the way to completely butcher your law firm, are working with them right now. Expect arrest warrants tomorrow, but of course by then the bodies of your partners will have already been left at the police station for a while. They’ll be alive of course, but you…well they can always search the Hudson, but the river is so big I doubt they’ll ever find you. Now where is Meg?”

Lucifer didn’t answer, instead letting his grip tightening around his knife as he began to match Castiel’s circling. Castiel responded, pulling out a wicked looking knife. Both men slowly circled each other before Lucifer snarled, leaping forward in attack.

Sparks flew as the blades began clashing together. Castiel quickly dodged a downward swipe, getting a small slash across Lucifer’s chest as her circled away. Red began to sprout across Lucifer’s suit, but the cut wasn’t deep enough to kill. Clangs echoed in the room for several minutes before Lucifer finally broke away again, small cuts and slashes dotting his body. Anger welled up in his chest, the only blow he landed on Castiel being a cut on his face. Lucifer’s eyes widened at the wicked smile adorning Castiel’s face. He was being played with.

Castiel lunged forward, but slipped on broken glass littering the floor. Pouncing, Lucifer took the opportunity to cut Castiel across his chest several times. Blood sprouted across the white of Castiel’s shirt and he staggered backwards cursing. Barley finding his footing before Lucifer lunged at him again, knocking his knife aside.

Both men lay on the ground, Lucifer on top of Castiel, attempting to drive his knife into Castiel’s heart with all his strength. Castiel, to his credit was fighting him off, but the cuts on his chest and the pressure Lucifer had from his position was making the fight difficult. The knife slowly inched its way towards Castiel’s chest. In a final act of desperation, Castiel headbutted Lucifer, giving him control long enough to wrestle the knife away and bury it in Lucifer’s stomach. A sharp cry followed by a deathly silence and Castiel’s heavy breathing were all that followed.

Finally making his way into the back office, he found Meg with a frantic look in her eyes. Smiling at her, Castiel undid her cuffs, her arms going around Castiel’s neck as soon as she was free, her lips planting a deep kiss on them. Returning the kiss with a smile, they begin limping their way out of the room. Meg turned to him with a small, pained smirk on her face, “What took you so long tree topper?”

“I wanted a dramatic rescue, befitting the story. Angels vs. Demons, light and dark battling it out? How could I not take the opportunity.”

Meg rolled her eyes, “Don’t do that next time. Just shoot the bastard and be done with it. Better yet, how about you listen to me next time when I tell you to leave me be?”

Castiel smirked at her, “If I did that then we would still be in this sort of trouble. How about I buy you a drink to make it up to you?”

“That’s less of a kind gesture when you work at a bar and the drinks for free Clarence.”

Their laughter was cut short by the cock of a gun behind them. Castiel moved instinctively, pushing Meg behind him to take the brunt of the bullet. The last thing Castiel heard before everything went black was a bang, sirens and Meg’s scream.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end. Or is it a new beginning?

The first thing Castiel noticed was the soft beep of the heart rate monitor next to him. The second thing he noticed was the soft grip of a hand holding his. Groaning softly in pain, Castiel sat up in bed, blinking several times before taking in his surroundings. A very clean, white room greeted him, confusing him as he tried to clear the fog of sleep from his brain. _Wait…ok so what happened? I was at the factory, I dealt with Lucifer…I was with Meg…MEG!_ His mind screamed frantically at him. Feeling the hand in his squeeze him softly, he turned and saw Meg sleeping in a chair right next to his bed. A soft smile adorned his lips as he took in the sleeping woman.

Meg didn’t seem to worse for wear, though the smattering of bruises and cuts that were half healed on her face made him want to go bring Lucifer back if only to kill him again. He calmed himself though, they were both alive and out of danger for the moment. It was time to relax, even if it was only for a day before they began dealing with the legal kerfuffle that awaited them. Castiel hoped that Sam was as good as he said he was, otherwise this would be a whole new war to fight.

Setting those thoughts aside, Castiel began to take stock of his wounds. Pulling off his shirt, he grimaced at the crisscross of bandages covering his chest. _Stupid, stupid, stupid I shouldn’t have let him get that close_ , Castiel thought angrily. Feeling a heavier swaddling of bandages on his shoulder, he craned his neck to get a look at it. His right shoulder was a ball of bandages, confusing him as to why that was so heavily impacted. Casting his thoughts back to the previous evening, his eyes lit up with a sarcastic light, _Right…I got shot again. Meg’s going to give me hell for that._

As if on cue, Meg stirred next to him. Her eyes lit up when she saw him awake and smiling at her. Castiel was grateful she didn’t throw herself at him, since that would probably have opened up most of his stitches, but he would certainly take the fiery, deep kiss she planted on him. He wasn’t expecting the hard smack to the back of the head that followed. He met Meg’s scowl as she began to berate him, “What the hell Cas?! You could have died!”

Castiel grimaced, “Well it’s not like I was going to let you get shot either! Besides, everything worked out in the end didn’t it?”

Meg resisted smacking the smug grin off his face, “Only because Dean had to foresight to tell the police where you would be. Otherwise this could be a much different conversation. Why the hell did you go in without back up?!”

Castiel felt the emotion in her words and knew she was right. It was stupid and he put himself, and more importantly her at unnecessary risk. His gaze softened as he spoke, “You’re right Meg, I’m sorry. Is it bad that I partially did it alone to try an impress you? I rarely get to play the hero and…well I wanted to be able to do that again.”

Meg wanted to hit him again but couldn’t bring herself to do it at the sincerity in his eyes. It had been an incredibly stressful few days for everyone and she was finally glad to be moving past it. Shrugging her shoulder, she climbed into bed with Castiel, snuggling her head into his uninjured shoulder and letting a small happy noise tell him he was forgiven.

Castiel wrapped his arm protectively around Meg, enjoying the soft weight her head made on his chest, burying his nose in her soft hair. Meg turned her head upward, letting Castiel pull her in for a soft kiss. Smiling against each other’s lips, Meg broke the kiss with a small happy sigh before saying, “We’re going to Heaven, Clarence.”

Castiel returned her smile as she buried her head back into his shoulder. He thought of all the things that occurred the many adventures they had found themselves in over the past week and the numerous escapades that would certainly follow. None of that mattered right now, as Castiel had only one question on his mind, “Meg, who is Clarence?”

Meg’s giggle was the only answer he got.

**_ THE END _ **


End file.
